PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Cupcake*Muffin]

Congrats Kunzite.

I'm so sorry about your loss.

Just a run by, will post later but wanted to congratulate K first!

 

[honey22]

LV -

Skippy - Adore the new avatar!!

thanks Friend!


I wish we could add video because I have the funniest video of Evan laughing. phooey! oh well.

KUNZITE, aww, that is so cute about Oliver!! darn, I wish we could watch video on here! I would LOVE to see that!!! Babies are so much fun!!! I am over the moon happy for you and your hubby that O will have a brother!!! I hope O's teething isn't hurting so much. hugs about your FIL. I love the pics of O above, he is precious!!!

LV, I wish we could see a video of S doing that!!! Awwww, she is so precious!!! I love her eyes, they have so much happiness in them and are so beautiful!

Hiya Sharon and other friends!


Any recommendations on bibs for babies that drool a lot?? We have some but I keep changing bibs on the babies often because they drool so much.

Hi Skippy! Delurking to say that my friend loves her bandana bibs for her drooling little one. She swears by them and they look really funky too!
Are we allowed to link to ebay? I am not sure if this is against the rules, but if it does get removed, then search bandana bibs on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/10-x-Bandana-bibs-Dribble-stay-dry-funky-baby-bibs-/160640749630?pt=UK_Baby_Baby_Feeding_Bibs_Muslins_LE&hash=item2566ef503e

 

[Puppmom]

Happy Birthday to the most handsome soon-to-be big brother in town!

Kunzite, pretty please post pics of that kiddo diving into some cake!

PS - Skippy, that is the cutest avatar EVER!

 

[noelwr]

is it Oliver's birthday today?

LV & Kunzite - funny that you mention about sitting and turning in circles. one of Skye's "colleagues" at day care who is a month older does that, but she doesn't crawl. and Skye crawls, but doesn't sit and turn circles. so I got it into my head that babies will do one or the other. stupid of me to think that a baby can't do both!

Kunzite - hope it is going home well alone with O. I was also a bit stressed when DH was in the hospital and my mom was too sick to come help. it worked out okay in the end, but Skye was also sick and keeping me up coughing at night. so much for finally being able to go to bed early! will you be celebrating O's birthday when you DH comes back this weekend? we also had a bit of schedule issues when daylight savings ended, but after a week she adjusted.

Skippy - I totally agree that your avatar is too cute. regarding drool, it doesn't matter if Skye has a bib on or on it, the drool just goes through it... oh well.

 

[Kunzite]

Skippy - We have these bibs, but in a different design that they don't sell anymore: http://www.target.com/p/Newborn-JUST-ONE-YOU-Made-by-Carter-s-Frog-3pk-Bib/-/A-13257225 We have a TON of bibs, but we put all of them in storage except these because we found that we only used these! They don't soak through very easily and they SNAP! Oh snaps, why didn't I think about how great snaps were before we bought all of our other bibs?! O will rip a bib off now if it doesn't have snaps.

noel - Oliver's birthday was yesterday. We celebrated over the weekend before dh left. Sorry to hear it took S a week to adjust. I just hate these time changes. O just started the spinning so I bet S will do it soon too.

pupp - If you insist! But I hate to disappoint, this kid wouldn't dive into anything! He refuses to touch or eat any solid foods at this point. He wouldn't even try the frosting. Maybe we'll throw him another birthday when he hits one year adjusted, maybe by then he'll be into making a big mess with food!!

... and if I can figure out how to post pictures I've posted elsewhere I'll do a few old ones for nostalgia, and then I'll stop spamming this thread!!



Booo! Those lost a lot of quality with resizing!

 

[Kunzite]

Okay, that's all!! Thanks for sharing this magical year with my little Oliver!!

 

[Puppmom]

Kunzite, you're the best! O is so cute!!! I love the baby legs pic. We tried them with N but his thighs are so fat that they practically cut off his circulation!

Skippy, have you tried double-bibbing? My friend does that because she hates when her son's shirt gets wet.

 

[Skippy123]

Hi Honey, thank you for the link to the bandana bibs; I will check them out!!!

PUPP, awww, thank you!!! I love your little guy!!! I take off the bibs and put fresh ones often but I will try double bibbing too!

NOEL, thank you momma; I love your avatar! Hope you have a great week at work.

eta: KUNZITE, awww, Oliver is so precious; I just love him!!!!! I think i have those bibs; I will go look for them!!! eta; OMG, yay for Oliver turning 1!!! Happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday dear sweet beautiful Oliver happy birthday to YOU. hugs!!! etaa: aww, seeing the NICU pics made me teary eyed to see Oliver doing so awesome!!! He is an amazing baby!!!


THANK YOU moms for all the eczema suggestions. We finally used the 1% and it really has been helping!!
Here is Evan baby after a bath; hubby wanted to snap a pic. thanks for your sweet words on my avie!

 

[zoebartlett]

Skippy -- I meant to post this when I first saw your new av but I didn't get to it. I love this pic of Evan. Both Evan and Miles are beyond adorable and they're going to be GORGEOUS when they're older. Look out mom!

Oh, and by the way, thanks for the lovely comment on FB. That pic is one of my favorites.

 

[Laila619]

Kunzite, OMG congratulations sweetie!!!! So exciting that Oliver will be a big brother! And happiest of first birthdays to little O! He's come soooo far! That pic of him in the NICU just moves me to tears.

I'm so sorry about your FIL though. Was he sick? That's such awful news.

 

[Lanie]

Quick post to say happy b'day to little Oliver! And congrats on being a big brother soon!!! And sorry about your FIL, Kunzite. Someone said it earlier...what a roller coaster.

CUTEY PATOOTEY pics of your boys Skippy!!!!!!

 

[dcgator]

Hi ladies,

Happy hump day! I hope you are all having a good week so far. For those of you in the U.S. and who have Friday off, only one more day till the long weekend. For those of us who will be working on Friday, hang in there mamas!

Skippy - OMG, those boys look too cute in their little Star Trek costumes. I bet they scored beacoup treats! I unfortunately don't have the pics of Sophia in her kitty outfit or her baptism dress, but I will try to get my DH to transfer them to me later. I am sorry about the reflux and the ezcema. I can't comment on the latter, but S has a slight case of reflux too. She has choked on milk to where it comes out her nose and I feel just awful. The worst part is when she scares herself b/c she can't breath for a second, and you just see her freak out, it breaks my heart. That being said, the doc says it's normal, so we aren't on anything, but I am definitely keeping an eye on it.

Basil - Not only is H adorable, but the progression pics with the puppy kissing him are soo cute As for S, that stuffy nose continues, but she is feeling pretty good.

Moxie - Dang girl, you get a gold star for pumping. I am lucky if I get 9 ounces from 4-5 sessions these days. How is the LO doing?

LV - What an adorable pumpkin princess S is! What is it about baby girls in tutoos? Sorry about the debacle with the power, but happy to hear you are back online. I think the sick comes with daycare, but vitamin C wouldn't be a bad idea. As for the impending mobility, good luck!

Random - C is precious, especially those eyes. Take care!

Catluver - Thanks for the PSA. Thankfully we use the Aveno that is not on the list, but good to know. Thanks for the well wishes. S and I are both feeling much better. As for your little cow, did you at least get some pics you could share, I would love to see him.

Kunzite - OMG, congrats on getting KU! How are you feeling? I am sorry to hear about your FIL. As for Mr. O, happy birthday! I little Superman, although I don't think your kitty thinks he was much help, lol. That one of him having a meltdown is too funny. Poor guy. Can I ask you about the teething and middle of the night screaming thing, what is the basis of that. Just curious, b/c I think S might be an early teether and she has some episodes with sudden screaming.

Charbie - Ohh, what a precious little reindeer! I am glad to hear that Aubrey is doing well and progressing as she should. I know how hard it is to post in the beginning, let alone do all the other stuff, so hang in there. If you get some time, I would love to get more pics/stories. Take care of you two.

Noel - I love the screaming pic, too funny. And she really is turning into such a little lady. Good luck on your transition back to work.

AFU, Sophia is feeling much better thanks. She seems to sailed through the icky part pretty quickly. She continues to have a lingering stuffy nose, but I think that may be a daycare characteristic. On the flip side, mommy got super sick. I took last Tues off work b/c I was feeling icky, then worked Wed and then I went downhill fast. By the 3 am feeding on Wed, I told my DH to take over baby duties b/c I felt so awful. I basically slept all day Thursday and got on some antibiotics, and by Friday was feeling better. I had my mom and sis come in late Friday night and then my bro and his gf and some other family friends come in Saturday, in anticipation of the baptism on Sunday, so relaxing was not really in the cards this weekend, however, I think I am finally reaching the end of this bug. As for the baptism on Sunday, it went really well. The priest did a great job and even though there were 4 other babies/family doing it, it was very personal and nice. And S was the best behaved baby of the bunch, and she didn't even cry when getting wet. It figures though since she loves bathtime, lol. We had a little party after the service and she held up really well. I think she hit a wall yesterday though, b/c she slept like 6 hours during the day, and her usual nighttime hours. Well, I need to pump now and get back to work, but I will try to come by later and post some pics from both Halloween and the baptism. Till then, take care!

 

[Haven]

Kunzite, you are killing me over here! I never do this, but I showed DH this thread because I was kvelling over Oliver's pictures. We both agree: too cute for words. Seriously. GAH! I'm dying! I know our babies won't turn out as adorable as Oliver, but you are making my biological clock sound its alarm!!!! (Okay, sorry. Back to your regularly scheduled thread.)

PSers have the cutest babies ever. Seriously. Skippy, I'm looking at you, now. Stop tempting me into reproducing with all these beautiful babies!

 

[dcgator]

As promised, here are some photos of S at her baptism

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I just have to stop in every now and then and look at these adorable babies!!! Such cute pictures! (I hope to have a picture to post in the next week or so as our daughter is due next Friday! )

 

[basil]

DC - great pictures of S's baptism! Love the gown. Glad you're feeling better!

DS - congratulations in advance! how exciting to be a grandparent!

Skippy - beautiful pics as always! Glad the eczema is getting better.

Kunzite - Congratulations on #2! And happy birthday Oliver! So sorry to hear about your FIL. What a whirlwind.

Sorry for anyone I missed..

Anyway, work is picking up speed and we have a new problem at daycare...after the first few days chugging all his milk he no longer wants to eat there. He is sleeping better there so now he only ends up eating like 4-6 ounces per day. I hope he is making it up later. His nose is stuffy again so last night was rough and today he is refusing to be put down. DH has lost his voice from laryngitis And I think I'm coming down with something too. Luckily, I have the day off so I'm planning to lay low for the weekend.

We're house hunting so that is taking up a lot of my mental energy. There's no reason not to take our time but I don't do well with unmade decisions so I want it over with ASAP.

 

[Skippy123]

Happy FRIDAY MOMMAS

BASIL, the eczema came back on his face but isn't so bad on his body. I guess I will just put vaseline for a bit. Oh my gosh, I wonder why babies do that?!?!? I left Miles with the neighbor and he was so happy with her but didn't want to eat and he did that at my sisters house too! These naughty babies! I am sorry, that must be frustrating; I hope he eats soon. Yay for house hunting!!! I hope you find one soon! Oh and thanks for your sweet words in the bfing thread!!!

DIAMONDSEEKer, yay I can't wait to see your beautiful daughters baby girl!!!!!

DCGATOR, awww your daughter is so beautiful!!! I LOVE the baptism pics! We will baptize them at the end of this month; my cousin is a deacon so he will be there and I am excited about that! Great job on pumping for your baby!!! thanks about my boys; we dressed them up but then straight to bed they went. hehe

LANIE, I am dying to see adorable Anderson's pics!!! thanks!

ZOE, thanks sweet friend!!!

HAVEN, thanks, looking forward to you hopefully joining this thread!! hehe I won't rush you though; my hubby and I took 10 years to finally go for it after lots of fun traveling.

KUNZITE, those bibs I own!!! I forgot all about them because they were a shower gift and they got tucked away but now the boys are wearing them; they are the froggy ones and the own the frog pj's too and onsies! lol Aren't those frogs the cutest! How did Oliver like his cake?? thanks about the detergent, I will look for that.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mommas I read all of the babies have stuffy noses. Are they allergies or just from dryness?? It sounds like it is a normal thing this time of year??? We are using saline and the Nosefrida (as needed). Happy Friday moms

 

[Skippy123]

LV, I ordered the toy you said S loves; it is a Lamaze toy, I forgot the name. My boys are loving that type of toys, with the mirrors, crinkle material and pieces they can chew. How are you and S?

 

[noelwr]

well, it was a very busy week for me, going back to work. I only went in on Monday and Wednesday morning, but also had to spend the whole day at the hospital on Friday (for my regular heart check-up, doctor visit and treatment - nothing to do with Skye's health) so it was quite an exhausting week. I am also going to physiotherapy twice a week for water retention in my hand on the side of my operation. anyway, work was okay, just reading stuff, and my colleagues were great and even organized welcome-back cake.

Skye is doing great. she is 11 months now, almost 9kg and is 72.6cm (28.6 inches). she got her shots on Tuesday and had no problems with it afterwards. she cried when I left her at day care on Wednesday, but didn't cry again on Friday, so not sure what happened. she is eating well again so I think she might be going through another little growth spurt. she can now manage to sip out of the fat straw part of a squeezy pack (not sure what you guys call it). drinking out of a cup is not going well yet. she keeps sticking her tongue out, above the cup lip, into the water. she doesn't get stuck standing anymore as she now knows to drop herself down on her bum. we take her to the swimming pool once every 2 weeks which she seems to enjoy. no clear words yet, but lots of babbling. also lots of playing around with her tongue and making funny sounds.

and here's a pic from today in her camo overalls

 

[Loves Vintage]

Noel, Such a cute outfit. S looks like such a cutie in that photo. Glad to hear your transition back to work is going smoothly. Has S ever cried before when you've brought her to daycare? I hope never to see that myself, but I think separation anxiety can start later, even if they're used to their teachers.

Skippy, Yay for lamaze toys! Is it Jacques the Peacock? That's the one we have. She still plays with it. I give it to her when we're in the car, but she usually drops it after a minute or two, but I can't pick it up for her because I'm driving! Re: Stuffy noses - it's hard to say the cause. Are you running a humidifier? That picture of Evan is amazing. Love his eyes!! Thanks for asking about us.

Basil, How are you feeling? Hoping you didn't get sick too! Hope H does better feeding at daycare!

DCG, Those Baptism photos are beautiful!!! She looks so big!! And what a good girl she was during the ceremony! You must have been so proud!!!

Kunzite, Amazing photos of the amazing O! The baby legs photo is AWESOME!!!!

*********
Not much new here, just a few notable accomplishments this past week. S now knows how to high-five (daddy taught her how), and she will put pieces of her food in my mouth if I lean in close (I taught her than, in 5 seconds, after reading about it in a baby book.) Haha, that is adorable! They also relayed a story to me from daycare last week (I love when they do that.) They said that she made one of the younger babies smile, and then when the little baby smiled, she kept cracking up. They say she laughs there all the time, but I just thought it was too cute that she was interacting with this little baby. Hee-hee! LOVE HER!

 

[Skippy123]

LV, I ordered Freddie the Firefly; I thought that is the one you got, I am sure it will be fun even if it is not the right one! lol awww, S is so precious! That is so cute about her and the other baby!!! Doesn't it make you wish that we could keep them little for awhile longer as this time is so precious and they are just the sweetest?!? awww, your baby is a doll! so sweet! I do have the humidifier going. I wonder if they have allergies? weird, I didn't think my boys could have allergies yet, but I guess anything is possible. thanks about Evan; I will need to put Miles pic up sometime too. heehe


NOEL, I am sorry about your hand; I hope it gets better. Awww Skye is so cute!! You can tell she has grown in that pic!!! She looks like her hair is getting thicker too! I hope this coming week is less hectic.

KUNZITE, how are you feeling momma?

Nothing too exciting going on here. Miles eczema came back on his face. I just lather on the vaseline. If it gets worse I will use the cortisone again; I just don't want to get too crazy with it. Oh and the boys are teething! I told my hubby they probably won't get teeth for awhile but they drool like crazy and love to try and stick things in their mouth. I am getting excited for the holidays; I usually don't care too much (I like them) but this year having kids makes it seem more exciting like we will get to see the holidays from now on through our kiddos eyes Happy New week soon!

 

[lili]

All the babies are sooo cute!

Skippy--
that picture of E. Such a handsome little guy.

DC--
Aww..can't believe how big S is already. Seems like yesterday that you were pregnant.

 

[noelwr]

LV - no, Skye has never cried before (that day) when I leave her at day care. today she also had no problem. I put her on the floor and she crawls off into the main hallway where all the kids are playing and forgets about Mom.

Skippy - yay for holiday cheer! I am also excited and have been organizing the presents since September. Evan has quite luscious lips!

dcgator - thank you for sharing photos of cute Sophia in her pretty baptism dress.

Kunzite - I love seeing how the shape of O's head changed with time. what a dramatic change in a year: from teeny tiny helpless newborn to this good-looking little boy! you must be so proud.

- - -

just ordered cupcakes with Miffy theme for Skye's 1st birthday. I gave in and decided she can have one sugary treat on her special day (and the day after because she also will celebrate it at day care). hopefully she doesn't like it much.

also her eczema has come back on her back so I called the doc for another prescription hydro-cortisone. you can't get even the 1% stuff here. I have to go to the doc, myself, on Thursday to get anti-hormone shots. I was speaking to the doctor on Friday and told him my hot flashes have disappeared (yay!), and he said that meant that my ovaries are working again and we need to suppress that. therefore the shots every 3 months and then the hot flashes will return (boo!).

I've also booked my flights to Houston in January for my shopping week. will be my first full week away from Skye, but I think it's good for me to have a break from being a mommy. I know it isn't all for moms, and DH says he can't be more than 4-hour driving distance away from Skye in case something happens, but I am okay with it and will leave her in good hands. I see it as recharging my batteries so that I can come back and be a better mom.

 

[Skippy123]

LILI, thanks friend!!! How is J?

NOEL, thanks!!! How fun to go shopping in Houston! Yay for Skye's birthday coming up! sorry the eczema is back; I hope it gets better soon.



Question. Evan is teething and I can tell his teeth are really bothering him (very cranky). I bought a bunch of teething toys and soothies. For some reason he can't figure out how to put them in his mouth. Any suggestions? He puts them sideways or the wrong way. Did you mommas like that Sophie the Giraffe or is it just some overpriced teether? I notice he now sucks on his sock. Thanks!!!

 

[Kunzite]

I just have a second because O is stirring from his nap, but I just wanted to say thanks again ladies!! You're all the best. I hope you don't mind if I stick around these parts for a little while since technically I don't really have a one year old!

Just look at Evan, Sofia, and Skye!!!

noel - she looks so much OLDER!! We noticed that about O's head too. He was born with what we called a softball head! It was so perfectly round! Now it's starting to get more oval like his papa's.


ETA - Haven!! You are so sweet. I've seen pictures you've posted of yourself and your babies are going to be international models or something! There's no way around it. I'm going to see your babies in Gap commercials!

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Skippy- my boys have a Sophie which they like to chew on but I don't know that it helps that much when teething. The thing that really helps them both is to wet a washcloth and stick it in the freezer for about 30 minutes, it gets cold but not completely frozen.

 

[Skippy123]

Skippy- my boys have a Sophie which they like to chew on but I don't know that it helps that much when teething. The thing that really helps them both is to wet a washcloth and stick it in the freezer for about 30 minutes, it gets cold but not completely frozen.

OH THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! Tiffany I am so doing your idea; when hubby got home tonight Evan was fussing and hubby put a washcloth in his mouth. Now looking back on that I think having it in the freezer will really help!!! How are your beautiful boys? do they have teeth yet? hugs!!!

KUNZITE, please stick around, I will miss you if you don't. I can't believe O is already 1; awww he is going to be an awesome big brother!!!!

 

[dcgator]

Hello mamas,

I hope you are all having a good weekend and enjoying some nice fall/winter weather wherever you all may be.

Diamondseeker - We can't wait to see your granddaughter's pics. Good luck to your daughter on her impending birth.

Basil - Thanks for the remarks on S, I do love her little dress too. Omg, our lives continue to be so parallel. We are also in the potential house hunting/building phase since we only have 6 months left on our lease and we may want to build too. More on that later though. As for the daycare issues, that's no fun. The sickness definitely sucks, but it too shall pass. For the stuffy nose issues with the baby, we use saline drops and the bulb syringe to clean out S's nose. Sometimes we don't need the saline, just the bulb to clear out some boogies. Also, if you just need to wipe the nose, try the boogie wipes. They have saline in them and they are softer on baby's face. As for the eating issue, I can't really help you on that one, but I hope it resolves soon.

Skippy - How exciting for your boys to get baptized too, and that's awesome that you can have family helping in the process. Are you going to put the boys in suits or the gowns? As for the stuffy nose, see my comments to Basil. Oh, and I am a big fan of the Lamaze toys too. S has a few of them. I love the names of the toys though, including Captin Calamari and Sir Prance a Lot. Sorry about Miles eczema, no fun. I am very excited about the holidays too. Regarding the teething, I think S might be an early teether, b/c she is constantly chewing on whatever she can put in her mouth, including Sophie the giraffe and of course her hands, and she drools all the time.

Noel - Aww, what a cute pic of Skye. I adore the camo, hehe. I'm glad to hear she is adjusting to daycare better now. That's also big going back to work. How does it feel? Sorry for having to get the anti hormone shots, that just sucks. Although I love being with my baby, it's nice to interact with big people too. As for your little getaway, get you some non-mommy time hun. Do whatever you need to do to keep yourself sane and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it!

LV - Yes, we were very proud indeed. And she its crazy how fast she is growing. Tear... That's too funny about the high-five, nice work daddy. And I love the baby-to-baby interaction. How sweet!

Lili - How nice to see you lady! How is your little one doing? Any more progress with potty training? Thanks for the comments on S, she really is growing so quickly =0(.

AFU, I am back in DC for business for a few days, so daddy and granni are watching Miss S. I do miss her very much and hope she won't forget me while I am gone, but it is kinda nice being back here and catching up with some friends after work. I flew in yesterday morning (way too early) and will go home tomorrow evening, so not a super long trip, but it's still the longest and farthest I have gone from my little turtle. Oh well, I will be home soon. In other news, I am pretty sure S is teething, even if the doc said he didn't see any teeth last month. She is always chewing on stuff, mainly her hands, and drools a lot. She also gets kind of fussy sometimes for no reason, but its managable. Otherwise, we are getting ready for our first airplane ride. We are going to TN next week for Thanksgiving with DH's family. I am looking forward to the trip and the chance for her to see some more family, but I am hoping she does well with the plane. With all this traveling, I have also stopped pumping. After being sick, my supply went WAY down (like maybe 8 oz a day) and I wasn't looking forward to traveling with the pump and all the pieces, so I kind of slacked off with pumping, and it quit really easily. So, I am now free to drink a anytime and not spend an extra 2 hours of my day pumping, which is kinda nice. I do wish I could have managed a bit longer, but I have a bunch of milk frozen from the early days so S should have a few more weeks of 2x day breast milk bottles. Anywho, I have some meetings to get to now, but I hope you all have a lovely week!

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Skippy- my boys have a Sophie which they like to chew on but I don't know that it helps that much when teething. The thing that really helps them both is to wet a washcloth and stick it in the freezer for about 30 minutes, it gets cold but not completely frozen.

OH THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! Tiffany I am so doing your idea; when hubby got home tonight Evan was fussing and hubby put a washcloth in his mouth. Now looking back on that I think having it in the freezer will really help!!! How are your beautiful boys? do they have teeth yet? hugs!!!

KUNZITE, please stick around, I will miss you if you don't. I can't believe O is already 1; awww he is going to be an awesome big brother!!!!

Good luck! I hope it helps. Christopher has 4 teeth and Travis has 2. They are wonderful boys- Christopher has been sick, just a cough and a fever. For the most part it doesn't bother him but sometimes he gets crabby and clingy- which is difficult considering there are two babies to take care of! I hope he gets over it soon. I feel so bad for him. He just started crawling and Travis is about to figure it out, so then I think I'm really going to be in trouble!!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Hi Tiffany, So nice to see you here!! I know you're a busy mama, but if you have time, we'd love to see recent photos of the boys!! How old are they now?

Skippy, I know SomethingShiny also rec'd the frozen washcloths. Hope it helps! Re: Sophie the Giraffe, S loves her. She was one of her first toys, so she's like an old friend to little S. I don't think she uses Sophie very much as a teether. If I had a choice, I would get these, also made by Vulli: http://www.amazon.com/Vulli-Vanilla-Flavored-Teethe-Colors/dp/B001N45DM2. The Vullie toys are made in France. Sophie is made of rubber and food paint. She is priced higher than lots of baby toys due the higher labor costs, I think. I think lots of moms buy Sophie because they are hoping to control baby's exposure to plastics with unknown contents from China. That's why I decided to get Sophie, anyway. Of course, this was BEFORE I realized that babies stick EVERYTHING into their mouths! In any event, she does love her, and we have the teething rings too, and she does use those for teething. Oh, and I think babies could sometimes get a little stuffy from teething. They can also get slight fevers, which everyone always says "they say can't happen", that babies have more illnesses because they are putting everything in their mouths when teething and are therefore exposed to more germs . . . my dr actually said he thinks they do get slight fevers from teething!! So, who knows? But, maybe that's the cause?

DCG, Good luck with your holiday travels! It seems like you're a seasoned traveller, and being that S is such a good baby, I think you'll be fine!

Noel, I had to google Miffy. I'm sure I've seen her before, but didn't know her by name. Too cute! You will have to post pictures!

Lili,